Earlier, Mallya offered Rs 80 lakh gold-plated doors to the Kukke Subramanya temple, a place in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district visited by many a well-known personality looking for a turnaround in fortunes.

Liquor baron Vijaya Mallya might be struggling to pay salaries to the staff of his beleaguered airlines Kingfisher and clear off his mounting debts which he owes to the banks, but he has enough to appease Lord Venkateshwara, his favourite god of Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh and plan a New year bash in Goa.

On the occasion of his 57th birthday on Tuesday, Mallya offered 3 kg gold to the Lord of Seven Hills. He handed over the gold to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam authorities and obtained a receipt religiously. The gold would be used for gold-plating the "bangaru vakili" (golden threshold) of the sanctum sanctorum.

The Rajya Sabha member had earlier donated 8 kg gold to the Tirumala temple in 2010 as part of the "Ananta Swarnamayam" project, which envisaged gold plating of the entire temple complex on the lines of Amritsar Golden temple. The project has since been suspended.

Mallya is an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateshwara and has been a regular visitor to the Tirumala temple. He often makes valuable donations for the temple.

Mallya was present at the hilltop temple along with his family members. He arrived with his family members on Monday evening and stayed at Venkata Vijayam, a guest house that he donated to the TTD 15 years ago. In the morning, he celebrated his birthday in a simple manner in the presence of his family members and local leaders. Later, he proceeded to the temple to offer gold bars.

Mallya has come in for severe criticism for donating gold to temples even as his prestigious airlines has been grounded because of lack of funds. Salaries of the airline's staff have not been properly paid, leading to boycotting of work.

Earlier in August, he donated gold-plated doors worth Rs 80 lakh to Lord Subrahmanya at Kukke in Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka. At the same time, he took a vow to donate another set of gold-plated doors to Lord Subrahmanya if his wish came true. Interestingly, Mallya has been visiting various temples of powerful gods ever since Kingfisher Airlines turned red.

The Kukke Subrahmanya temple has three main doors of which two have been gold-plated by Mallya. Only the doors of sanctum sanctorum of the temple are not gold-plated. Mallya's vow will ensure that even those doors have gold cladding.

Apparently, Mallya is planning a New Year bash in a grand manner in his private mansion - Kingfisher Villa - located in Candolim in Goa. Built on Balinese style, Kingfisher Villa is a popular destination for private party revelers, as Mallya is supposed to throw exotic parties in his mansion.

According to reliable sources, an SMS originated from Mallya's staff mobile confirming the planned party in Goa and even has the number on which the invitees have to contact to ensure that they gain entry into the party.

The business tycoon's latest plans are certain to attract attention, as revival of Kingfisher Airlines appears difficult. Recently, it was announced that Mallya planned to infuse Rs 425 crore into the airline to resume operations. But pilots and staff deserting the airline, resuming normal flight operations may be a major challenge.